


Bristling

by Combination_NC



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: First Kiss, First Time, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-07
Updated: 2012-03-07
Packaged: 2017-11-01 15:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/358215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Combination_NC/pseuds/Combination_NC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The nature of their companionship had been changing so slowly that Anders did not know when affection had turned attraction as well; one day it was simply there, as if it had always been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bristling

**Author's Note:**

> This was written and water colour painted for the tumblr DA Valentine's Day Exchange. Outside the internet, the picture is post card sized.

It began in the library, an Anders helping a fellow Anders out with a still unfamiliar language and the recently introduced written word. One of them is younger and sullen, almost viewing the Circle as a personal insult, the other having reached a kind of resigned acceptance, if only to preserve his sanity. He is still happy to share stories of a lost home however, to ease the burden of homesickness in the other.

It felt natural to continue on that path, to teach and to comfort, two Anders sharing the same book, comfort turning mutual over the years and growing into something stronger, something deeper. The nature of their companionship has been changing so slowly that Anders does not notice  _when_  affection turns attraction as well; one day it is simply there, as if it has always been.

Perhaps it is the beard, Anders thinks, chin in hand and eyes on Karl. His Harrowing is approaching, the Circle mages' mark of adulthood, but Karl has been growing a beard as his  _own_  mark of adulthood, like a quiet form of rebellion to show that the Circle is not the one to decide when he may become an adult. It looks good on him; beard and subtle rebellion both.

They are different when it comes to that,  _subtly_. Anders is the kicking and screaming kind, insults and open defiance granting him a  _reputation_  as well as punishments. Karl is much sneakier than Anders could ever manage, his own emotions spilling over much too easily. He likes to think of Karl as sneaky because sneaky feels like something good, because he enjoys the  _idea_  of a Karl who opposes the templars in secret. There is something exciting and adventurous about that thought. Karl agrees with him that what the Circle does is wrong, but in that  _resigned_  way that Anders has conflicted feelings about. But it does not make him like Karl any less, does not stop him from wanting to reach out to touch his hand where it lies next to a book.

It seems fitting that their first kiss is shared in the library, hidden from sight in a less-used corner, lips too dry and heart beating too fast. It still manages to be perfect, somehow.

That is how they continue, different moments behind different bookshelves, Karl bending down to greet Anders' mouth, to let lips meet lips and catch his tongue with his own, strong fingers tousling red gold hair and slightly thinner fingers buried in a brown beard.

There are other moments, empty storage closets a temporary sanctuary for noses to touch and for fingers to entwine, to simply look into the eyes of someone who  _understands_  with no unwelcome interruption. Interruption in the form of kisses is of the welcome kind, starting at the forehead and trailing all the way down to the collar of Anders' robes. Getting out of them would be too risky, but he still wants  _more._  More of  _this_  and more of Karl and more of privacy.

It is not until Karl is Harrowed that they get it. He is gone from the apprentices' quarters one morning, and Anders is struck by a cold fear that does not thaw until he sees Karl's familiar face in the dining hall. His robes are different, now; a full mage, a senior mage. And it is lonely, to be without him in the quarters they both used to live in, but being close to a Harrowed mage  _does_ have its advantages.

The senior mages have rooms of a sort; they still have to share, but they have proper beds and a bit of private space, divided off by screens. They have some illusion of privacy here, are able to touch each other without needing to be as discrete, hands meeting previously untouched skin and lips meeting  _thighs_ , exploring new places, creating new sounds and  _wants_  and needs.

Eventually, it goes further than bodies pressed together with cloth between them; robes lying discarded on the floor, modesty and risks equally forgotten. Skin against skin, legs tangled together and fingers intertwined, kissing turning into panting. Karl is  _gentle_ , and Anders is surprised to find out that gentle is what he wants, this time.

Afterwards, curled up together under the covers, Anders knows that this was the first time of many. This might now be  _love_ , but whatever  _this_  feeling is, he wants more of it.

 


End file.
